Transparency Statement

Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires qualifying commercial organisations to produce a slavery and human trafficking statement for each financial year. That statement must be either a statement of the steps the organisation has taken during the financial year to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in its supply chains and its own business, or a statement that the organisation has taken no such steps. It may also cover matters such as the organisation's structure and supply chains, its due diligence processes, and staff training on slavery and human trafficking, though the Act does not compel any particular content.

The Act imposes formal approval and publication requirements on top of the content requirement. A statement from a body corporate must be approved by the board of directors (or equivalent management body) and signed by a director (or equivalent), with different signing rules for limited liability partnerships and other partnership structures. If the organisation has a website, it must publish the statement there and include a link to the slavery and human trafficking statement in a prominent place on that website's homepage; an organisation without a website must instead provide a copy to anyone who makes a written request.